beats her son repeatedly calling him a 'little beast.' A few weeks later we rejoin Mrs Constant. She is a shell of her former self. It is Reverend Merrick who informs us of the reason for this: Arnie has drowned himself to his mother's great shame. Merrick seems to offer a way out for Mrs Constant, by suggesting that Arnie committed suicide not because he was gay but, on the contrary, because he had fathered the child of a coloured girl in the town. Meanwhile, Mr Constant has been called to testify at the House Committee on Un-American Activities, and has thus lost his job, and is accused of becoming a drunk. Mrs Slifer's son Paul has also lost his job in Washington due to the McCarthy witch hunts. Ward Perry arrives to tell Mrs Constant that he has heard from Don, and in an act of love he wants to give her back her pride in her sons. She responds only with hatred. Sam finally erupts at Caryl and Mrs Constant, but somewhat misses the point, blaming their spitefulness on their womanhood, and revealing his own shameful prejudices. Eventually Mr Constant resolves to travel to the committee with Ward Perry: in his gentle way he is refusing to be pushed around, and refusing to be segregated from his fellow man. In the end, we are given a glimpse of a way back for the stuttering paralyzed hope of the American Dream, as Mrs Constant resolves to look after the coloured girl's baby — and we hope take pride in it for being itself. Productions The play was originally performed in Harrogate in 1955, but was heavily cut by the Lord Chamberlain's office, who objected to the homosexual undercurrents in the play. The production was largely panned by critics, as it made little sense after the censor's cuts. The play was performed uncut at the White Bear Theatre (London) in June/July 2010 by FallOut Theatre. The production was directed by David Aula, with set designed by Anna Hourriere, sound designed by Edward Lewis and lighting designed by James Baggaley. The cast was as follows: Karen Lewis (Mrs Constant), James Callum (Mr Constant), Joanne King (Caryl Kessler), Mark Oosterveen (Sam Kessler), Peter Clapp (Arnie Constant), Genevieve Allenbury (Mrs Slifer) and Steven Clarke (Ward Perry/The Investigator/Reverend Merrick). Music for the production was composed and performed by Luke Rosier. The FallOut production transferred